It was a sledgehammer’s nothingness. A full-on, razed earth, wholesale destruction of his memory past Atria’s lips coming down on his.
Kaz tried to get out of bed but his legs failed him. He crumpled in a heap in the middle, even more confused by the fact that he still wore his jeans.What is goingon?
His mind felt foreign inside in a way he struggled to understand. It was… bigger? No. It wasopen.It was like someone had come and cleared out the junk from inside his mind and thrown open all the windows to let the light in. That light was in his veins.It damn near sparkled across every nerve ending, every synapse.
It felt like—
Kaz clutched at his head, ignoring the split skin and what had to be fractured finger bones, as he grasped the enormity of what he was experiencing.Oh, princess.
It was her.
Atria wasinsidehim. She was the sunshine and she was the great, open space in his mind. She’d thrown out the junk and made herself a home in his soul, just as he asked. Carrying her with him should have made him feel heavier, maybe, but reality was the reverse. Kaz had never felt lighter in his life.
The bond.
His eyes burned. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Gratitude pressed on his lungs until they simply refused to inflate.
She bonded with me.Atria had given him the ultimate act of intimacy and trust in the form of a connection that would sustain her life. She’d chosen him. Despite all his flaws, his history, his thick skull, she’d pickedhimas the caretaker of her soul.
Gods, I love her so much it hurts.
He reached for her in his mind, trying to catch all that twinkling sunlight with his oafish hands.
Theodore once admitted that he and Margot shared a crystal clear telepathic connection. He’d hoped that he and Atria might share the same, but that was apparently unique to his brother and his mate. No matter how loud Kaz called for her in his mind, he didn’t get a verbal response back.
Instead, a full-body warmth infused him.I love you,that warmth said, as clear as if she’d spoken.I’m all right. I’m here.
He could sense her as if she was standing right next to him. It was like the tether on damn steroids. When he reached for that light, he felt everything she did — all the love, all her worry for him, her anxiety about…
A knock at the door made him jump. “Captain.” It was Vesta, her voice pitched low. “If you’re awake, you should know that—”
Kaz threw himself out of the nest. He slammed into the wall by the door, rattling the entire caravan, but he barely noticed. Wrenching open the door, he snarled, “What fucking time is it?”
Vesta blinked owlishly at him, utterly unmoved by his temper or his appearance. “Nearly ten, sir. Your consort’s presentation starts in half an hour.”
His stomach sank for all of a second before a frenzy of worry and anger overtook him. “Whereisshe?”
“At the conference hall, sir.”
Of course she was. He was absolutely certain Atria wouldn’t have left him for anything else. Not when their bond was so fresh, and certainly not after her fucking kidnapping.
Still, the news didn’t make him feel better. The idea of her being on her own back in that over-crowded conference made him sweat with fear. “Did you let her go to the hall byherself?”
Vesta scowled. “Of course not. The team is with her.” There was a small, reluctant pause before she added, “And the former sovereign.”
He would have wilted with relief if he had the time. Since he didn’t, he only swore again, whirled around to snatch a clean t-shirt out of his bag, shove his feet into his boots, and sling his holster over his shoulder. Grabbing his leather jacket, he waved Vesta toward the caravan’s passenger’s seat. “Move! We don’t have time!”
She slid gracefully into the seat before she turned a critical eye on him. It spoke to how erratic his behavior was that even Vesta, one of the many members of Fracture stalwartly against any concept of self-care or restraint, asked, “Sir, are you sure you’re well enough to drive? You seem—”
“Very fucking determined to watch my mate make history and also keep her ass safe? Yeah, I am. Thanks for noticing.”
“Captain, you don’t look well. When your consort bonded to you yesterday, you hit your head. Are you feeling woozy at all? Should I call a healer?”
Kaz threw himself into the driver’s seat and turned the key so hard he briefly worried it might snap off in the ignition. The caravan sputtered to life. It certainly wasn’t the most elegant vehicle, but it would get them there. He’d blow the damn engine up if it meant getting there on time.
“I’m fine,” he bit out as he disengaged the parking break and slammed his boot on the gas. “Navigate, Vesta. Quickest route. We aren’t missing a fuckingword.”
He could feel her stare boring into his profile for several seconds before, in a curiously resigned voice, she said, “Make a left up ahead.”
